Eyelash curlers



July 7, 1959 J v, FLYNN 2,893,404

EYELASH CURLERS Filed Nov. 19, 1957 Patented July 7, 1959 EYELASHCURLERS John V. Flynn, Rochester, N.Y., assignor to The Kurlash Company,Inc., Rochester, N.Y.

This invention relates to eyelash curlers, and particularly to a type ofeyelash curler having a handle portion that is foldable with respect toa second handle in such manner as to materially decrease the size of thedevice, thus making the carrying of it in a handbag orv in any otherrelatively small receptacle, entirely feasible. eyelash 'curler of thegeneral character of that to which the present invention relates, isshown in the patent to 'Iuttle and Beldue, No. 2,460,317, dated February1, 1949, and the present invention constitutes an improvement thereover.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an eyelash curlerhaving a foldable handle, with locking means by which the handle, whenin its folded or inoperative position, shall be maintained in a certaindefinite position and shall, while in such position, serve to maintainthe jaws of the curler immovable, with the movable jaw disposed with itsresilient facing or cushion in contact with the lower edge of the fixedjaw.

It is an object of the invention to provide such locking means byutilization of a notch formed in the surface of one of the handles,which notch is brought into engagement with a portion of the movable jawwhen the handle bearing the notch is moved to its folded position.

It is an object of the invention to provide an eifective locking meansas above described, by which the several parts of the device will beretained in a fixed or immovable position while the foldable handle islocated in its folded position.

With these and other objects to be hereafter set forth in view, I havedevised the arrangement of parts to be described and more particularlypointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of theinvention is disclosed,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of an eyelash curler constructed inaccordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar side View, but showing the foldable handle in itsfolded and locked position;

Fig. 3 is a detail view in section, showing how the notch in thefoldable handle engages with the lower edge of the movable jaw when saidhandle is in its folded and locked position, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the foldable handle, showingthe notch formed therein.

An eyelash curler of this character includes a relatively stationaryelement 1, and a relatively movable element, the latter in the presentconstruction, being composed of the two parts 12 and 7, pivotallyconnected together in a manner to be explained. The stationary elementin cludes the finger loop 2, and spaced-apart posts, shown at 20 and 21,these posts being formed at the top with oif-set arms 4 to form a yoke.Connecting the tops of the arms 4 is a curved fixed jaw 5.

Slidable to and from the fixed jaw 5" is the movable jaw 9 which carriesa resilient facing or cushion 11 contained in a channelled holder 12a,the latter being tightly,

but removably contained within the channel-shaped jaw 9 as clearly seenin Fig. 3. The resilient facing or cushion 11 is brought into contactwith the lower edge of the fixed jaw, as shownin Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of thedrawing, when the movable jaw 9 is in its raised or advanced position.At the opposite ends of the movable jaw are formed guide loops 10 whichembrace the arms 4 and are slidable thereon in a manner known in thisart.

The portion 7 of the movable element of the device, is in the form of achannel-shaped pivoted lever, and it is pivotally mounted at asubstantially central position on the pin 6, between the flattenedportions 22 of the posts 20 and 21. Adjacent to its forward end, thelever 7 is pivotally connected to a wire yoke 8, which is looped throughapertures 33 provided near the forward end of said lever 7, and extendsto the movable jaw 9. The handle portion 12 of the movable element isformed with a flattened extremity 14 arranged to fit within the channelof the lever 7, said portion being pivotally mounted on a pin'30extending across thechannel of the lever 7 to theirear of the pivot pin6. The handle portion 12 is formed with a finger loop 13, and on theflat portion 14 it is provided with a protuberance 15 constituting adetent and adapted to engage with an aperture 16 provided in one of thewalls of the lever 7 adjacent to the rear end of the same.

Formed in the outer surface of the loop portion 13 of the movable handleis a notch 31 so located that when the movable handle 12 is in itsfolded position, as shown in Fig. 2, the notch 31 will engage with thelower edge 32 of the movable jaw, urging the jaw into closedrelationship with the fixed jaw 5, at the same time definitelypositioning the movable handle in a fixed and locked position. Theslight resilient compression of the rubber facing 11 permits theengagement or interlock of the notch 31 with the lower edge 32 of themovable jaw, and its resilience maintains such interlock until themovable handle is manually swung down to its operative position shown infull lines in Fig. 1.

The normal or operating position of the eyelash curler is seen in Fig.1, wherein it will be noted that the flattened portion 14 of the handlemember 12 is positioned within the channel of the lever 7 and the detent15 on the handle member 12 is in engagement with the aperture 16 in thelever 7. Through this engagement of the parts, lever 7 and the handleportion 12 are held together as a single element so that at this timethe lever 7 constitutes a rigid extension of the handle portion 12.Thus, when the handle portion 12 is moved to and from the loop 2, theyoke 8 will be moved up and down and the movable jaw 9 will be broughtto or from. the stationary jaw 5, so that the device can be used forcurling eyelashes in the known manner.

When it is desired to carry the device in a handbag, or else store it ina small receptacle or carrying case, the handle portion 12 is foldedupwardly, the start of such folding movement being shown in dotted linesin Fig. 1, and the final, upwardly-folded position shown in Fig. 2. Inthe latter position, it will be seen that the notch 31 in the handleloop 13 has become engaged with the lower edge of the movable jaw, thuslimiting the upward swing of the movable handle 12 and maintaining it ina definite folded position. This locking engagement between the loop 13and the movable jaw maintains the movable jaw with its facing or cushion11 held against the lower edge of the movable jaw 5. Thus, while thedevice is being carried in a handbag or elsewhere, the entry of foreignmatter between the jaws, with possible damage to the jaws or to the userof the device, will be prevented.

Having described a single embodiment of the invention, it is obviousthat the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough tocover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1'.- An eyelash curling device comprising a stationary handle formedwith a yoke at one end, a jaw fixed on said yoke, a movable jaw slidableon the' yoke to and from' the fixed jaw, a lever pivoted on thestationary handle, a link connection between one: end of the lever andthe movable jaw, a movable handle pivoted on the lever at a pointrearwardly of the pivot connecting the lever to the stationary handle,mean for detachably locking the movable handle to the lever wherebymovement of the movable handle will move the lever and such movementwill be transmitted to the movable jaw, the

pivotfor the movable handle permitting said handle to be swung to fitunder the movable jaw upon disengagement of the locking meansand whenthe movable jaw is moved to contact with the fixed jaw, the movablehandle being notched to enable said notch to engage the under side ofthe movable jaw and establish a locking engagement with the movable jawwhen said movable handle is positioned under the movable jaw.

2. An eyelash curlingdevice having a stationary handle formed with ayoke, a fixed jaw at the top of the yoke,

a movable jaw slidable to and from the fixed jaw on the yoke, a two-partmovable arm pivotally attached to the yoke, connection means betweensaid arm and the movable jaw whereby movement of the movable arm servesto move the movable jaw to or from the fixed jaw, one of the parts ofthe two-part arm being pivotal in respect to the other, one of the partsof the two-part movable am being channel-shaped, the second part of saidarm having a finger loop and being pivotally mounted in the channel ofthe first part, the channel-shapedelement being pivoted in the yoke,-and the second part being pivotally mounted on a pivot located to therear of that which connects the first part to the yoke, the finger loopbeing provided with a notch in its edge, said notched part beingswingable to a position where its notch engages with the lower edge ofthe movable jaw while said jaw is in closed position relative to thefixed jaw.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS350,313- Mill'e'r Oct. 5; 1886; 2,460,3 11 "male etal.- Feb. 1, 1949

